Get Paid With A Powerful Alternative to California's Mechanic's Lien

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Sheppard Mullin

By Scott Hennigh

In California and most states, a contractor can get some security to assure that it will be paid for its work on a project. An unpaid contractor on a private project can go to the county recorder and record a mechanic's lien against the property to which it provided labor, service, materials or equipment. The mechanic's lien makes the property security for the debt owed to the contractor. Then, if the project owner still does not pay, the contractor can file a complaint requesting that a court enter judgment and order a foreclosure sale of the property so that the debt can be paid from the sale proceeds.

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Appellate Court Finds That the Filing of a Stop Notice Is Potentially Subject to the Litigation Privilege if Made in Good Faith Contemplation of Litigation

Posted on April 4, 2006 by Sheppard Mullin

In AF Brown Electrical Contractor, Inc. v. Rhino Electric Supply, Inc., issued March 23, 2006, the Fourth Appellate District was faced with the question of whether an electrical supplier's conduct in filing a stop notice fell within the ambit of C.C.P. § 425.16, the anti-Slapp statute.

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California Court Of Appeal Holds That A Contractor "Completes His Contract" Under Civil Code Section 3115

Posted on March 15, 2006 by Sheppard Mullin

When The Owner Anticipatorily Breaches The Contract, And Therefore A Lien Recorded One Day After The Breach Is Not Premature

Howard S. Wright Construction Co. v. BBIC Investors, LLC, California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, 2006 DJDAR 1339

Cases concerning the timeliness of recording a mechanic's lien generally concern the latest time a party may record its lien. In Howard S. Wright Construction Co. v. BBIC Investors, LLC, 2006 DJDAR 1339, the California Court of Appeal considered the reverse issue, i.e., when is the earliest time an original contractor may timely record a mechanic's lien under California Civil Code Section 3115? Section 3115 provides that an original contractor may record a claim of lien "after he completes his contract . . . ." In Howard S. Wright, the California Court of Appeal held that a contractor "completes its contract" within the meaning of section 3115 not only when it substantially performs its obligations under the contract, but also when the contract is terminated prematurely by the owner, or the contractor is discharged from any further obligations under the contract by the owner's material or anticipatory breach

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